Hill sparks fourth-quarter surge

Spurs' top reserve tallies 20 points as Minnesota again fails to hold lead.

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, December 4, 2010

The ball was loose on the AT&T Center floor late in the fourth quarter Friday, and Spurs guard George Hill went down with it.

They call them 50-50 balls. As in, it's basically a coin flip as to which team gains possession.

At that moment, with the Spurs having just gone up by two after another stirring fourth-quarter rally on Minnesota, Hill figured it was a 50-50 game.

“I knew that was a play that can win or lose a game,” Hill said. “I just had to give up my body and hope things work out in my favor.”

Hill flung himself floorward and recovered the fumble — officially scored as a rebound of Corey Brewer's miss — and called a timeout, and the Spurs hung on for another ho-hum comeback victory, 107-101 against the Timberwolves.

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Tim Duncan filled the stat sheet with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals. Tony Parker re-emerged from his recent hibernation with 20 points, and the Spurs rallied from 15 points down after coach Gregg Popovich was ejected late in third quarter.

They won despite a season-high deficit on the boards, 59-37 against the NBA's top rebounding team, and despite 19 fewer field-goal tries. They won despite 28 points from Michael Beasley, and a 25-point, 18-rebound opus from Kevin Love.

“It's kind of amazing,” said Duncan, whose team did enjoy a hefty edge from the foul line (33 of 37 to 20 of 25). “Just find a way to win. That's all it takes.”

The story of the Spurs' night, however, was their Sixth Man.

In seasons past, that wouldn't have been much of a headline. Over the years, Manu Ginobili played at an All-Star level off the bench, turning games with his special blend of grit and playmaking. On Friday, it was Hill's turn.

Hill scored 20 points, getting eight of them in the fourth quarter when the team with the NBA's best record was threatening to drop a second straight game to one of the NBA's worst.

His late date with floor burn wasn't the only energy play Hill supplied, just the most notable.

“That was an example of what he did the whole game,” Ginobili said.

These are the kind of nights the Spurs (16-3) need from their Sixth Man, now that Ginobili is a starter.

Ginobili made his own brand of history Friday. He became the first Spur since 1986-87 to go 1-for-10 from the floor, yet still find a way to at least 16 points.

Hill's night, in a way, was more like good Manu.

“I think everybody fed off his defense and effort and playmaking,” Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer said. “Pop's always on him about being aggressive, and then being more aggressive and more aggressive. Tonight, I think he's happy with him.”

Budenholzer took over after referee Marc Davis ran Popovich with 1:10 left in the third quarter. Wesley Johnson had just hit a 3-pointer, and Love hit the two technical shots, and Minnesota led 82-71.

If Popovich's intent was to spark his team, it didn't immediately work. Two more Brewer layups, completing a 25-9 Wolves run, had them up 86-71 entering the fourth.

It wasn't foreign territory for the Spurs. They'd been down before, including eight days earlier in Minnesota, when they overcame a 21-point deficit to win in overtime.

Unlike in Nov. 26 game, in which the Spurs suddenly went unconscious from 3-point range, they turned this one on the defensive end, holding Minnesota (4-15) to 15 points on 4-of-19 shooting in the fourth.

Still, when Brewer's miss caromed off the rim with 1:02 to play, the Spurs up 101-99 and needing an elusive rebound to complete the stop, the chances did not seem in their favor.

All night, those 50-50 balls felt more like 80-20.

Then Hill hit the floor, and he changed the odds, and he set the stage for what happened next.

Coming out of Hill's timeout, Budenholzer dialed up a play that got Richard Jefferson a dunk.